This invention relates generally to an additive manufacturing apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for mass production of components.
“Additive manufacturing” is a term used herein to describe a process which involves layer-by-layer construction or additive fabrication (as opposed to material removal as with conventional machining processes). Such processes may also be referred to as “rapid manufacturing processes”. Additive manufacturing processes include, but are not limited to: Direct Metal Laser Melting (DMLM), Laser Net Shape Manufacturing (LNSM), electron beam sintering, Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), 3D printing, such as by inkjets and laserjets, Sterolithography (SLA), Electron Beam Melting (EBM), Laser Engineered Net Shaping (LENS), and Direct Metal Deposition (DMD).
Currently, powder bed technologies have demonstrated the best resolution capabilities of prior art metal additive manufacturing technologies. However, since the build needs to take place in the powder bed, conventional machines use a large amount of powder, for example a powder load can be over 130 kg (300 lbs.). This is costly when considering a factory environment using many machines. The powder that is not directly melted into the part but stored in the neighboring powder bed is problematic because it adds weight to the elevator systems, complicates seals and chamber pressure problems, is detrimental to part retrieval at the end of the part build, and becomes unmanageable in large bed systems currently being considered for large components.
Furthermore, currently available additive manufacturing systems are geared for prototyping and very low volume manufacturing. Considerable differences can exist from part-to-part. Some elements of current systems are cumbersome to handle due to weight and can require excessive manual, hands-on interaction. Duplication of multiple machines in parallel to manufacturing multiple parts results in expensive duplication of components and services such as controls and cooling and environmental controls.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an additive manufacturing apparatus and method that can produce components on a mass-production basis.